Senate Speaker Amason Kingi demands “the harshest punishment possible” meted out to individuals behind the Kilifi County Shakahola cult, which has claimed the lives of 67 people.

The killings, according to Kingi, were horrible and should serve as a wake-up call to the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and the community policing program.

“How did such a heinous crime, organized and executed over a considerable period of time, escape the radar of our intelligence system? How did evil of such an astounding magnitude take place without being detected? How did this ‘pastor’ gather so many people, indoctrinated, brainwashed and starved them to death in the name of religion and then buried them in a forest without being detected?” he posed.